Xabi Alonso Praises Marco Palestra's Adaptation to Become Chelsea's Versatile Player

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has given praise to Marco Palestra. The young player demonstrated rapid adaptability when fielded during the 2026 Indonesia Super Cup pre-season fixture against AC Milan at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta.

"We are very happy that he [Marco Palestra] has adapted extremely well," stated Xabi Alonso during the post-match press conference after facing AC Milan at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta.

Chelsea closed the match with a convincing 3-0 victory. Joao Pedro was the stand-out performer scoring two goals, while Moises Caicedo contributed the remaining goal.

Amidst the win, Alonso viewed Palestra's progress as a positive takeaway. Despite his youth, the 21-year-old was able to make an impact when deployed in different positions on the pitch.

Alonso also assessed that the young player displayed a strong drive to continue developing.

"He [Marco Palestra] has that hunger to improve, to give his absolute best," he added.

Alonso Wants Flexibility At Chelsea

The praise for Palestra is directly tied to the playing philosophy Alonso is currently building at Chelsea. The Spanish head coach wants every player in his squad to be capable of performing more than one role during matches.

According to Alonso, flexibility is a critical element to ensure Chelsea cannot be easily analysed and predicted by opponents. Players must first understand the core foundational principles of the team's play, before adjusting movement and rotations according to live match situations.

"The core principles stay the same, but the movement can change. We want to be a side that is hard to read, we want to be flexible, we want to be a constant threat," he stated.

For Alonso, a playing system is not a rigid structure. The starting formation only acts as an initial base, before players begin moving to create space, execute positional rotations, and build dynamic match flow.

"Of course the system is just an initial blueprint. After that, there must be movement, rotations, and created playing dynamism," he said.

With this approach, players such as Palestra are given room to demonstrate their capabilities across multiple positions.

Alonso added that this flexibility will provide Chelsea with far more tactical options over the course of the season.

"Up until now, we are not locked into just one single idea. We want to keep as many possible options available to us," he concluded.